A nuclear physicist from Kolkata, the 28 year old had always wanted to be an astronaut. He had, in fact, even applied to the Nasa astronaut training program once only to discover that they don’t take non-US citizens. Far from the daunting prospect of never returning to Earth, the one-way mission is what holds allure for Khan. “This is what makes it achievable. With the current technology that we have, we can’t go and come back as well,” says Khan, who works at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics. The institute’s scientists have collaborated on the Large Hadron Collider experiments in Geneva.
62 Indians are among the 1,058 applicants shortlisted for the Mars One – a crowdfunded project from a Dutch non-profit will send 24 to 40 people on a one-way mission to Mars to build a permanent settlement on the planet. The actual flights with the manned crew are purported to start in 2024.
Right now, the shortlisted applicants are in the initial stages of Round 2. They are yet to undergo medical evaluations and personal interviews. Once the project, quite literally, takes off, plans are afoot to make the entire process a 24×7 reality show – something that is also expected to fund the long-term project.
The proposition is wild, the consequences extreme and the required commitment irrevocable. A one-way trip, feasible when the Earth and Mars are in orbits and in sync, takes six months. There are risks of radiation, the question of growing food and even sourcing oxygen.
All of 20, Amulya Nidhi Rastogi from Gurgaon, is also one of the “1058-ers” as they call themselves right now. He is getting busy organising a “Million Martian Meeting” in Bangalore, a seminar that will feature speakers from the Mars One project and talks on establishing a settlement on the red planet.
This is not the first time that there has been talk of settling on Mars. Russian billionaire Elon Musk and English business mogul Richard Branson have also spoken of initiating similar projects in great detail, even setting deadlines. However, American astronaut Buzz Aldrin has expressed doubts about the feasibility of the Mars One mission.
Vinod Kotiya, an engineer working in the capital says, that a one-way mission is the only way to realize the project. “There are unanswered questions right now that can only be answered by deep space exploration. If we are to rely on current technology, living there is the best option,” says Kotiya, who has an 18-month old daughter. “If I do make it, maybe I will have regrets about never being able to come back. But we all live with some or the other regret, don’t we?” asks Kotiya, who says he has worked close to the Gangotri in the Himalayas on a hydroelectric power project.
While Kotiya and Khan have been actively following the updates every step of the way, Namrata Ashok Gawai, a software engineer from Hyderabad, says she had forgotten all about her application after she sent it in July. “I thought I’d think about it later. But once I realized I had been shortlisted, I was very excited. A project like this will help all of humanity. As for my family, they can track me 24×7 on the reality show that will be telecast,” says Gawai, who hails from Wardha in Maharashtra.
Reality should hit hard soon enough.
selected Indians ready to go to Mars
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